Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System

I took YARTS to Yosemite on Memorial Day weekend and I could not be more happy with the experience. The bus picked me up in Oakhurst right on schedule Saturday morning and returned me back that evening. I did not have to deal with parking or traffic. I immediately went from riding the bus to enjoying the park without worrying about my vehicle. The drivers were absolute professionals. They were courteous, knowledgeable, and I was impressed with their driving skills — really. They frequently used the turnouts to let faster moving traffic pass — even though the buss moved just as fast as the rest of the traffic. Leaving the park Saturday evening, the line of cars was backed up 6 miles — from tunnel view to Yosemite Village. YARTS is by far and away a better option than fighting the traffic and searching for a parking spot. At the risk of sounding like a commercial: Leave the driving to the professionals and make YARTS part of your Yosemite experience. It is inexpensive!
–Oh — one more tip: The road into Yosemite is filled with lots of turns and is a bit like riding a carnival ride. I am person that has trouble with motion sickness. If you are like me — plan ahead and take a Dramamine.

Public transportation to get in and around Yosemite
Marketing department could do a better job marketing this line and schedule to Yosemite.
To find out about this service we asked a driver.

YARTS needs to make their online schedule clearer. I counted on the «Run 30 — Fresno to Yosemite» bus to take me to Yosemite. Only to find out that that bus doesn’t actually go all the way to Yosemite. Even though it’s in the schedule as «Fresno to Yosemite». I had to get a hotel room in Oakhurst and catch the next bus the next morning — and was late to work.
Basically, the unclear YARTS schedule cost me an extra $ 90, 9 hours of my time, and made me late for work.
To add insult, I emailed them my concerns and didn’t get a response.

Do the math:
Price of a round-​trip ticket from the Merced Amtrak station to the Yosemite Valley, $ 25. This includes entry into the park.
Yosemite entry fee for one car, $ 20.
So if you are going alone, it’s cheaper to ride the YARTS. Unless you can get to Yosemite and back on less than $ 5 worth of gas. A huge bonus is I can hike all day and don’t have to drive all the way back home tired.
The YARTS buses are very clean and modern, the seats are comfortable and spaced generously between rows. The bus also has a bathroom on board. I have always had an entire row to myself, as the bus is rarely full in the off-​season. YARTS buses even have seat belts for safety. The bus drivers are friendly and helpful, especially to out of town if not out of the country guests.
What I like most about YARTS: you can set your watch to them. I have taken at least a dozen trips on YARTS, and the bus has been no more than a minute behind every time.
I just wish they had a run to Yosemite that leaves around 8:00. I hate waking up early for the 7:00 bus.

Horrible customer service. Due to wildfires, the road between Yosemite Valley and Tuolomne was closed. As we needed to get back to our rental car, we had planned to take a YARTS bus from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne. We tried to call YARTS to see if they would be taking an alternative route, but continuously got a message saying that we should contact them during business hours, which were Monday-​Friday. They then said we should check their website for more information. Being that we needed the shuttle on Sunday, we could not talk to a YARTS representative via the phone. The website was not updated at any point. Our only option was to try and talk to a YARTS bus driver. So we waited for a bus taking an alternate route. Guess what? The drivers had no clue as to whether or not our bus would be running, and had no way to check for us. We waited for the 5pm bus to show up (as the website said it would be there) and it never showed. Crappiest customer service ever.

Some bull****! These guys double charged me for the trip. Said they accepted credit card (but had to let it process after we had gone through one of the mountain passes), then the driver said it didn’t go through (which, usually the machine has some type of printout saying it didn’t go through… which he never showed us) so we paid in cash. Surprise, credit card statement had a charge for the fare.

If you’re headed to the most spectacular of nature’s wonders, please do not drive. Stay green by taking the Amtrak to Merced and then take the YART to Yosemite. Roundtrip tickets can be purchased for $ 25-​$ 30.

YARTS, as this transit system is known, takes you to and from Yosemite National Park. We took the shuttle from Mariposa and back and it was only $ 24 for two adults round trip. As mentioned by the other reviewer, the fee includes the park’s entrance. YARTS provides a number of local vendors who sell the tickets, so you don’t have to worry about buying them from the driver and having exact change. It took about two hours to get up to the park because of the several stops along the way and people getting on and off, but it provided a stress free and relaxing ride. There are a number of times for pick-​ups and drop-​offs. It’s convenient and hassle free. The best part is not having to deal with all the park traffic, just wish it didn’t take so long to get into the park.

Relax, enjoy the beautiful scenery and let someone else do the driving.
The next time you plan your trip to Yosemite, consider staying in Mammoth Lakes, June Lake or Mono Lake.
For $ 30 per adult, roundtrip including park entrance fees, the YARTS shuttle will pick you up at a designated area (We were lucky. One of the stops was our hotel in Mammoth, Juniper Springs Lodge.) and drop you off in the heart of Yosemite Valley. Explore for 5 – 6 hours. Then, enjoy the drive back.
Shuttles are comfortable and our driver was super friendly. YARTS runs daily during July and August; weekends during June and September.